boc4ever

I thought I'd give this a try and if it works, I'll post something new each week. I have been digging into my old school metal piles recently and really appreciating some of the what I would consider "classic" metal albums of the past. Notice I called them "albums" because I had most of them on vinyl before I upgraded to cd. My taste generally leans to thrash, but I also have found myself picking some more mainstream early eighties stuff. I am going to start with Flotsam and Jetsam's "Cuatro" from 1992. Here are a couple videos to get you started.

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1. "Natural Enemies" – 3:35
2. "Swatting At Flies" – 4:03
3. "The Message" – 4:32 (Carlson, Knutson, Ward, Smith, Gilbert, Cornell)
4. "Cradle Me Now" – 4:04 (Carlson, Knutson, Ward, Smith, Gilbert)
5. "Wading Through The Darkness" – 6:06
6. "Double Zero" – 4:43
7. "Never To Reveal" – 4:16
8. "Forget About Heaven" – 4:47
9. "Secret Square" – 5:21
10. "Hypodermic Midnight Snack" – 3:46
11. "Are You Willing" – 4:00
12. "(Ain't Nothing Gonna) Save This World" – 3:45

I found Cuatro to be a really diverse album with solid production and not a dud to be found. I'm going to leave the responses to this thread wide open for reviews, comparisons, debates, etc. Whatever comes to mind. Even experiences seeing them perform on the tour would be welcome. I'm more or less using this thread as an excuse to highlight some of my favorite albums in the hopes that other people will discover/appreciate them as much as I do. Have fun!

bunkaroo

Great record. I took this as their stab at the mainstream after they saw how Metallica did with the Black album. Produced by Neil Kernon who can always be counted on to make a great sounding metal record.

My second favorite Flots record behind When The Storm Comes Down.

boc4ever

I couldn't agree more that Kernon's approach is top notch. What I think is great about the record too is that it is definitely more accessible musically and vocally, but it still has the Flotsam sound and some really powerful songs. There are great hooks and guitar work without compromising their style.

It is also funny that you mentioned WTSCD because I just listened to that in the car today also. I am a big fan of that one too, but Erik's vocals seem rougher than No Place or Cuatro. A lot of people seem to think that WTSCD was a poorly produced album. I think it sounds way thinner, but I think the sound is just different, not weak, if that makes sense. One of the things I loved about the band during this era was how the albums really mixed it up well. A lot of bands in this genre tended to put out albums with very little variation, which can be good and bad. You knew what to expect, but it just felt monotonous at times. For that reason, I feel Flotsam never got the respect they deserved.

wishbone

My college roommates had a radio show so I got to listen to an advance copy of Cuatro:  as a Flotsam and Jetsam fan I found WTSCD to be lacking in production, especially the sound of the drums, so this album was a welcome departure for me. As previously mentioned this album is full of great guitar work and hooks along with catchy choruses to sing along with Eric A.K. "Secret Square" is probably my favorite track on this album -- Jason Ward's bass playing really sets the mood from start of the song. "Are You Willing" always struck me as filler on an otherwise solid effort by Flotsam and Jetsam.

I still have a promotional VHS video for "Wading Through the Darkness." It has the following instructions on the box:This is the cut sheet included with the video: